Law Commons^™

Against Bankruptcy: Public Litigation Values Versus The Endless Quest For Global Peace In Mass Litigation, Abbe Gluck, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, Adam Zimmerman

Scholarly Works

Can bankruptcy court solve a public health crisis? Should the goal of “global peace” in complex lawsuits trump traditional litigation values in a system grounded in public participation and jurisdictional redundancy? How much leeway do courts have to innovate civil procedure?

These questions have finally reached the Supreme Court in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., the $6 billion bankruptcy that purports to achieve global resolution of all current and future opioids suits against the company and its former family owners, the Sacklers. The case provides a critical opportunity to reflect on what is lost when parties in mass torts find …

Weed Like Our Money Back: Amending Pennsylvania’S Medical Cannabis Law For Insolvent Cannabusinesses, Nikolajs V. Gaikis

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In 2016, Pennsylvania joined what is now 37 states and the District of Columbia in legalizing medical cannabis. The Commonwealth’s cannabusinesses share in a struggle that is common in other legal jurisdictions: operating within the confines of the Controlled Substances Act and the Bankruptcy Code. Insolvent individuals and businesses that profit from cannabis or hold cannabis assets cannot declare bankruptcy because cannabis is a Schedule I drug. Under state law, other insolvency alternatives like an assignment for the benefit of creditors, receiverships, and compositions with creditors exist as potential alternatives.

Pennsylvania’s insolvent cannabusinesses are in a uniquely poor position because …

Tinjauan Hukum Penerapan Hak Mendahulu Utang Pajak Dalam Perkara Kepailitan Pt Industries Badja Garuda Berdasarkan Undang-Undang Nomor 37 Tahun 2004 Tentang Kepailitan Dan Penundaan Kewajiban Pembayaran Utang, Siti Fatimah Citra Nurislamiati

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

This paper discusses the application of pre-emptive rights over tax debt collection in bankruptcy disputes regulated in Article 41 paragraph (3) of Law Number 37 of 2004 concerning the Bankruptcy and Deferral of Debt Payment Obligations displayed by the Directorate General of Taxes. Tax debts outside the bankruptcy process for compulsory taxes are being filed for bankruptcy by requesting the Commercial Court to return all tax liabilities that would harm the interests of the country. In the event that a taxpayer has been declared bankrupt, the Directorate General of Taxes still has the right to overtake and is privileged, requesting …

The Internet Of Bodies, Andrea M. Matwyshyn

William & Mary Law Review

This Article introduces the ongoing progression of the Internet of Things (IoT) into the Internet of Bodies (IoB)—a network of human bodies whose integrity and functionality rely at least in part on the Internet and related technologies, such as artificial intelligence. IoB devices will evidence the same categories of legacy security flaws that have plagued IoT devices. However, unlike most IoT, IoB technologies will directly, physically harm human bodies—a set of harms courts, legislators, and regulators will deem worthy of legal redress. As such, IoB will herald the arrival of (some forms of) corporate software liability and a new legal …

"Undue Hardship" And Uninsured Americans: How Access To Healthcare Should Impact Student-Loan Discharge In Bankruptcy, Alexander Gouzoules

Faculty Publications

Student-loan debt has grown to unprecedented heights. Contributing to the severe burden imposed by these debts is the Bankruptcy Code’s unique presumption that they are not dischargeable. To overcome that presumption, a debtor must establish that repayment of her loans would constitute an “undue hardship.” This essay examines the disagreement among bankruptcy courts that have interpreted the “undue hardship” standard in situations where a debtor is unable to afford health insurance—a common occurrence among the economically disadvantaged. After examining recent healthcare reforms, I argue that Congress has expressed a judgment that all Americans should obtain minimum essential healthcare. Though this …

Protecting Patients Or Protecting Government Agencies: Bankruptcy Involvement In Medicare/Medicaid Termination, Anthony J. Ienna

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a struggling business can preserve essential property needed to remain operational. However, when a healthcare institution is in financial disarray and becomes noncompliant with federal regulatory standards, courts may block rehabilitation through bankruptcy. Healthcare institutions such as nursing homes, which are in the process curing deficiencies, must stay in compliance with the federal regulations in order to continue to receive Medicare and Medicaid funds. Nursing homes must make the necessary changes before funds are terminated or they will be forced to abruptly close. Courts often scrutinize nursing homes’ ability to care for their patients because …

Use It Or Lose It: Grappling With Classification Of Post-Petition Sale Proceeds Under Chapter Seven Bankruptcy For Consumer Debtors In The Lone Star State., Danielle Nicole Rushing

St. Mary's Law Journal

Texas affords consumer debtors some of the most generous state bankruptcy exemptions in the United States. This includes the homestead exemption, which permits consumer debtors to exempt a homestead of unlimited value from forced sale, subject to certain enumerated exceptions. Bankruptcy courts throughout the state are grappling with how to characterize proceeds from the sale of an exempted homestead once a consumer debtor files a Chapter Seven bankruptcy petition. Specifically, courts consider whether a debtor may personally retain funds from the sale of a homestead or whether a Chapter Seven Trustee should receive the sale proceeds on behalf of the …

Reforming The Law Of Reputation, Frank A. Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

Unfair and deceptive practices of controllers and processors of data have adversely affected many citizens. New threats to individuals’ reputations have seriously undermined the efficacy of extant regulation concerning health privacy, credit reporting, and expungement. The common thread is automated, algorithmic arrangements of information, which could render data properly removed or obscured in one records system, nevertheless highly visible or dominant in other, more important ones.

As policymakers reform the law of reputation, they should closely consult European approaches to what is now called the “right to be forgotten.” Health privacy law, credit reporting, and criminal conviction expungement need to …

Respecting The Concept And Limited Liability Of A Series Llc In Texas Comment., Bernie R. Kray

St. Mary's Law Journal

The primary advantage of a limited liability company (LLC) is to shield owners from personal liability for the contract and tort obligations of their business entities. To further protect business assets, practitioners often advised clients to form multiple LLCs, each containing single assets. Yet, business owners managing multiple assets and LLCs often found this approach ineffective and cost-prohibitive. Allowing for a single “master” LLC to compartmentalize different series of properties without the need for a distinct holding company, the “series” LLC was the next step. The series LLC permits companies to partition assets and liabilities among various cells or “series,” …

Managing Medical Bills On The Brink Of Bankruptcy, Melissa B. Jacoby, Mirya Holman

Melissa B. Jacoby

This paper presents original empirical evidence on financial interactions between medical providers and their patients who go bankrupt. We use a nationally representative sample of people who filed for bankruptcy in 2007 to compare two popular but hotly contested methods of measuring medical burden. By applying both methods to the same filers, we find that nearly four out of five respondents had some financial obligation for medical care not covered by insurance in the two years prior to filing as measured by the survey method. The court record method paints a different picture, with only half of the cases containing …

Putting Health Care Providers At A Loss And Consumers At Risk: Why Hmos Should Be Held Accountable For The Financial Instability Of Their Delegated Networks., Anish P. Michael

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Comment explores why health maintenance organizations (HMOs) such as PacifiCare should be held accountable for the financial instabilities of their delegated networks. Part II discusses the organization of the managed care system and the assessment of Texas laws currently enforcing managed care in the state. Incorporated in this discussion is a look at the risks delegated networks bear when contracting with HMOs to provide payment for individualized care. Part III analyzes the increasing trend of financial instability by presenting the views of the HMOs, the delegated networks, the health care providers, and the consumers enrolled in the health plan. …

The Carryforward Of Net Operating Losses And Other Tax Attributes After Bankruptcy Reorganizations., Martin M. Van Brauman

St. Mary's Law Journal

When stock is exchanged for debt in a bankruptcy reorganization, potentially abusive tax situations can result if the reorganization occurs strictly for the carryforward of tax attributes to the acquiring corporation. The basic question is to what extent the discharge of indebtedness provisions, the application of the various statutory and judicial requirements, and the consolidated return regulations prohibit or restrict the carryforward of the tax history of the debtor corporation. Bankruptcy reorganization for a corporation under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code can take the form of either a recapitalization or a reorganization. Because a “G” reorganization involves a discharge …